Finding Yeti

The Maoists are coming!! STRIKE!!

daliana — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 23:36:00 GMT

i know it's been forever since i last wrote a real update of the things i've been up to these last 6 weeks, but that'll have to wait. right now i rather update u on the current situation here in Kathmandu as the deadline for the constitution comes upon us quickly, and the class struggle to be heard.

it's been buzzing around for days now, a strike is coming. locals and travelers alike chattering about the citywide strike planned for saturday that will ultimately shut down Kathmandu until Maoist demands are met. today i was planning on adding to my travel journal finally, when my friend came in the internet cafe where i was, saying i needed to finish up quickly because they needed to close up shop, like in 5 min. he explained that the Maoists, red shirts, were coming and were collecting "donations" of 5000 Nepali rupees (71 US dollars) from each business to help fund their activities. now, this is not so much a donation but rather a command, you can't just refuse to pay. one after another all the shops in Thamel, the tourist mecca of Kathmandu, began closing up shop. kicking out all customers and locking up, they were all trying to avoid what would be extortion. so i quickly finished up and left.

the atmosphere was a lil tense as everyone waited for the men to come around. i ended up heading to a restaurant hoping to get some food and look down on the street below me just in case something were to go down. i read a bit in the paper that the police seized bomb making materials in a local hotel brought in by Maoists the day before. among the materials was a sack of slingshots and marbles, hmmm..... i guess what ever works right?!

i sat there for a while and watched as the businesses closed up shop and then an hour later slowly began to re-open again. apparently they didn't show up. right now as i'm writing i'm hearing chanting and some kind of commotion going on. i'm not too sure how far it is from me right now but i think it might be time to get off here and assess the situation. the air is tense and the unknown is grabbing at our throats. this is an interesting time to be here, but not necessarily good for the future of Nepal. i hope for the best as Nepal comes closer to writing it's constitution due may 28th (supposedly).

they say the strike might go on for a month, i hope not. but we'll see. i might have to escape Kathmandu or bunker down in my room.

but other than that everything is great!!! :D lol

so don't worry out there. i be aight! ;)

reporting from kathmandu,
daliana

Photos: nepal 1

daliana — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 17:02:00 GMT

arrival

LAX - KTM

daliana — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:12:00 GMT

LAX

Got to LAX and going through security when all of a sudden a security guard yells “BRAVO! BRAVO!” and then the next yells it passing it along. Everything stops, it’s at a freeze. I look around, all us travelers look a bit worried and the airport staff looks curious. Within a split moment several scenarios run through my head, is it a gun? A terrorist? But alas I land on one. It’s a bomb! It plays out like this; I hit the floor a mere split second before the bomb goes off, just like the last episode of 24 but, I don’t know if I’ll survive. As this runs through my head I look over to the security guard standing next to me and say, “is everything ok?” he looks over at me and says “I think it’s just a drill. Well, I hope.” I look over to the area where the warning started. A few guards shuffle around and then run off down the hall and a few others look unimpressed. I look over again to the guard and joke, “do we need to hit the floor? Cause you know I will hit the floor!” I give him a wink and he laughs. Another minute goes by and I hear a few travelers getting nervous too. I’m thinking, this could be it, and I haven’t even left America. All of a sudden a yell breaks out and then everything resumes back to normal, as if nothing ever happened. Now I know my adventure has officially started. Yeah that’s right, first brush with death averted, but now what?! One can only imagine….

Now I find myself sitting at my gate, I have 2 hours to kill. A lady next to me sneezes, I say bless you and an instant friendship blossoms. Her name is O-Young, she’s Chinese but now lives in LA. She’s on her way to Hong Kong to visit family. We get chatting and talk about everything. She says she’s been married going on 35 years so I jump at the opportunity to ask my favorite question: “What makes your marriage work?” Her response is “communication, space, and respect, but the key is to always be honest and when something bothers you say it. Although, never criticize or argue with your significant other in front of anyone, keep that private.” Good advice I say. We’re laughing and bonding, she say’s she can see I have a good heart, I say I can see she has a good heart. Her eyes are warm and I know this is a moment, a meeting of two strangers that should be cherished.

Across from us sit an older couple. The husband speaks up and I find out they’re heading to Bali. They work for a non-profit over there. The wife looks uncanningly familiar though but I can’t place it. I tell her that and she shrugs. Another man sits down across from me and joins in on our now bustling corner. His name is Khem, he lives in Orange County but is from Nepal. I learn that we will be sharing the 10 hour layover in Hong Kong and that makes me happy. Before we all board O-Young says "when we get to Hong Kong I want to treat you to breakfast" I gratefully accept. We plan on meeting up after we land. She stands up to get on board and that was the last time I saw her. I miss my friend.

The flight was a mere 17 hours ;) I watched 3 movies and one documentary and then slept in a peculiar fold. Once we arrived in Hong Kong I was one of the last off the plane due to a much needed bathroom break. I got off searching for my friend O-Young but never found her, perhaps she was searching for me too but we missed paths and I never ran into her again. For the rest of my trip I thought about her and how I missed her.

When I got off though, I ran into Khem and the both of us would roam the airport together for the 10 hours before we boarded our next flight. In those 10 hours we chatted about everything, life, love, family (he was heading to Kathmandu to see his Mum who had become very ill and was in the hospital), and then just joked around like we were old friends. We jumped online at the free internet stall facebooked away, munched on some wasabi crisps that my friend Theresa gave me for the trip, and then hit a sports bar and got my butt whipped in pool. We then changed his seat so as to sit next to me on our 7 hour flight to KTM.

Once we arrived he had set up 2 rooms for us at a hotel and transport there. We got there and headed to bed. I gave him a hug and told him I'd pray for his mum. That was the last time I saw Khem. The next morning I slipped a note under his door, for the had already left to go to the hospital, and when I got back from exploring I found a note posted on my door his mother had passed away and he had left to go home town Pokhara. I miss Khem! I wish him all the best and hope to run into him again.

Almost Gone

daliana — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:02:00 GMT

So I'm sitting on the floor of my almost prior room. I really should finish packing and cleaning but hey, I'm a person who needs to be pressure prompted, so I'm creating this first.

I thought I should make some goals for this trip, so here they are:

1) Find the Yeti with the most minimal effort (this might be tough, but I think I have minimal energy expenditure down to an art form)

2) Find and outrun a rhino. Wish me luck!

3) Enlighten the Dahli Lama. This might take some exerted effort but I can be persistent

4) Go bungee jumping!!! Yikes!! I hope they push, otherwise there might be a long wait

5) Keep within a budget of $15/day for everything!!

6) Last but not least, I vow to not over sleep, misread, completely miss, or be denied boarding on ANY of my flights! This one will be tough as almost all my prior travel history has shown. With that said, maybe I should finish packing ;)

So keep me company as I attempt to defend against the attack of intestinal bugs, other bugs, rhino's, my own stupidity, and of course the Yeti (even though I think we'll be buddies by the end)

Daliana